Education

"I hope that visitors who come here will achieve a closer understanding of the presidency and that young people will get a clearer comprehension of what this nation tried to do in an eventful period of its history." - Lyndon Baines Johnson

Education Programming

Below you'll find a list of activities and tours that students or adults can participate in at the LBJ Library. Registration is required.

Mini Presidential Tour
1 hour | Grade Level: PreK-3rd

The Mini Presidential Tour is a docent-led tour focusing on the role of the president. It includes a tour of the Oval Office, the Great Hall, LBJ's limousine, "What is an archive?" activity, and storytime. This tour is one hour and best suited for grades PreK-3rd.

Presidential Tour
1-2 hours | Grade Level: All

The Presidential Tour is a docent-led or self-guided tour which includes the Oval Office, Life in the White House, The First Ladies Gallery, LBJ's Presidency, and A Legacy of Liberty. This tour is approximately one to two hours and is suitable for all grade levels. Groups are encouraged to spend 30 minutes outside of the tour in our temporary galleries, when available.

The Spy's Dilemma/LBJ and the Cold War Program and Tour
2.5-3 hours | Grade Level: 5th and up

During this interactive classroom activity, students will take on the role of a Soviet spy and select the most important documents from President Johnson's secret files to bring back to their leaders. Students work together to analyze primary sources from the LBJ Library's archives. Following the classroom activity, students will tour the exhibits and view the presidency through the lens of the Cold War. This docent-led or self-guided tour includes the Oval Office, Life in the White House, The First Ladies Gallery, LBJ's Presidency, and A Legacy of Liberty. The program and tour are approximately two and a half to three hours and are best suited for grades fifth and up.

Vietnam: A Presidential Decision Program and Tour
3-4 hours | Grade Level: 10th and up

Become part of the Johnson administration and learn what it takes to advise the president. In this Vietnam-focused activity, students will advise President Johnson during a meeting with his National Security Council on whether or not he should escalate the bombing in Vietnam. Following the classroom activity, students are able to tour the exhibits and discover other decisions the president had to make during his time in office. This docent-led or self-guided tour includes the Oval Office, Life in the White House, The First Ladies Gallery, LBJ's Presidency, and A Legacy of Liberty. The program and tour are approximately three to four hours and best suited for grade levels 10th and up.

During this guided discussion, participants will investigate the disappearance of three civil rights workers in Mississippi during the Freedom Summer of 1964 using telephone conversations, oral histories, and documents from the library's archives. Following the classroom activity, students will tour the exhibits and analyze the struggle for social justice in the 1960s and make connections to today. This docent-led or self-guided tour includes the Oval Office, Life in the White House, The First Ladies Gallery, LBJ’s Presidency, and A Legacy of Liberty. The program and tour are approximately one to one and a half hours and are best suited for grades 9th and up.

A Matter of Civil Rights Program and Tour
3.5 hours | Grade Level: 10th and up

Become part of the Johnson administration and learn what it takes to advise the president. This simulation activity allows participants to take the role of a member of the president’s Civil Rights Advisory Group to recommend the next civil rights legislation he will send to Congress in 1968. Following the classroom activity, students will tour the exhibits and analyze the struggle for social justice in the 1960s and make connections to today. This docent-led or self-guided tour includes the Oval Office, Life in the White House, The First Ladies Gallery, LBJ's Presidency, and A Legacy of Liberty. The program and tour are two hours and are best suited for grades 10th and up.

Great Society Program and Tour
2-3 hours | Grade Level: 8th and up

The Great Society provided the framework for President Johnson's domestic policy in the 1960s. Students will analyze documents from the LBJ Library's archives, make connections to current events, and discuss the future of Great Society programs in their lifetime. Following the classroom activity, students will tour the exhibits and witness how President Johnson's Great Society programs were passed and how they influenced his leadership and decision making. This docent-led or self-guided tour includes the Oval Office, Life in the White House, The First Ladies Gallery, LBJ's Presidency, and A Legacy of Liberty. The program and tour are approximately two to three hours and are best suited for grades 8th and up.

Election Collection Program and Tour
2-2.5 hours | Grade Level: 3rd and up

Presidential elections are an important piece of history and civic participation. Students will handle and analyze election memorabilia from the 1964 election between Lyndon B. Johnson and Barry Goldwater. Following the classroom activity, students will tour the exhibits and make connections to the issues raised during the election. This docent-led or self-guided tour includes the Oval Office, Life in the White House, The First Ladies Gallery, LBJ's Presidency, and A Legacy of Liberty. The program and tour are approximately two to two and a half hours and are best suited for grades third and up.

Special Programming

"Liberty! Equality! and Fireworks!"

The Pollyanna Theatre Company returns to the LBJ Auditorium in February with their acclaimed production of a powerful production that takes a new generation of theatergoers into the world of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. The play follows the field trip adventures of a group of students who are visiting a history museum and then are surprised by what happens when people from the exhibits come to life and tell them about their personal experiences of discrimination and the fight for equality in the 1960s.

Presented in partnership with the LBJ Library's Education Department, schools are also invited to visit the museum when they attend the play. This play is by Gregory Perrin. It is intended for students in grades 3-7. There are performances during the week (February 14-16, 2018) for school groups to attend as well as a free show on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018, for the public. Please visit Pollyanna Theatre Company to purchase your tickets. After you've received your confirmation, please sign up to visit our exhibits before or after the performance.

Explore UT

The University of Texas at Austin is hosting a campus-wide open house on Saturday, March 4, 2017. The LBJ Library will be open at 9 a.m. as an early bird location for those arriving on campus. Stop by to write a letter to the new President of the United States and to tour the exhibits.

Curriculum Resources

Professional Development

The LBJ Library is certified by the Texas Education Agency as a provider of Continuing Education Credits (CEU) for Texas educators. Our workshops are open to educators and feature primary sources from our document, photo, and museum archival holdings. The workshops are created with teachers in mind, with goals to help educators expand their curriculum and develop their own skills in research and primary source work. Workshops can be arranged at any point during the year on a weekday when the museum is open to the public, in addition to pre-scheduled workshops.

Educator Membership

Launched in September 2016, the Education Membership level of the Friends of the LBJ Library is in the early stages of forming and growing. If you are a current classroom teacher, homeschool teacher, or professor, please consider joining the membership program. The benefits include two programs a semester geared toward educators, one Evening With ticket (pre-determined) per semester, priority registration for teacher and student events, as well as free admission to all presidential libraries, a discount in the LBJ Library store, and more! Please contact us for more information. You must be a current teacher or enrolled in a teacher training program to become a member.

National History Day

Created as a way to encourage students to engage in historical thinking, National History Day is a nationwide project-based contest for middle and high school students. The LBJ Library and the National Archives support the year-long National History Day competition. The format allows students to pick a topic within a broad theme to analyze and conduct research. This year's CenTex Regional History Fair is Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017, at Kealing Middle School.

With our extensive holdings, the LBJ Library provides primary sources, available in-person and some online, to enhance students' NHD research and projects.

For more information about how to start your research, click here.
For more information about the regional, state, and national fairs, click here.

Bus Scholarships

Made possible through the generous support of our Amplify Austin donors, we are offering bus scholarships to economically disadvantaged Pre-K-12 grade schools through the 2018 school year. Transportation costs up to $250 will be reimbursed. Apply today!

On This Day in History

On this day in 1965, President Johnson sent a letter to the President of the U. S. Senate and the Speaker of the U. S. House on Stepping Up the War on Poverty.

I request the doubling of the War Against Poverty. In addition I request legislation to improve our ability to conduct that war.

We reaffirm our faith that poverty can be eliminated from this country, and our solemn commitment to prosecute the war against poverty to a successful conclusion. For that struggle is not only for the liberation of those imprisoned in poverty, but for the conscience and the values of a prosperous and free nation.

From the very beginning, this country, the idea of America itself, was the promise that all would have an equal chance to share in the fruits of our society.

As long as children are untrained, men without work, and families shut in gate-less poverty, that promise is unkept. New resources and knowledge, our achievements and our growth, have given us the resources to meet this pledge. Not meanly or grudgingly, but in obedience to an old and generous faith, let us make a place for all at the table of American abundance.

Our objective was stated by the Congress in the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964: ’to eliminate the paradox of poverty in the midst of plenty in this Nation by opening to everyone, the opportunity for education and training, the opportunity to work, and the opportunity to live in decency and dignity.’

On this day in 1968, President Johnson traveled to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he spoke to troops leaving for Vietnam and visited injured troops at Womack Hospital.

The President then flew to El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, California, where he reviewed troops departing for Vietnam.